Nominalising Adjectives: さ

For all adjectives—both i-adjectives and na-adjecitves—we can turn them into nouns with the particle さ. For i-adjectives we…

Expressing Frequency & Periods

To express period and frequency—in other words, to say how many times something happened per day, week, and…

Adverbs with Suru & Naru

We already know how to change an adjective to an adverb and connect it to a verb. 仕事しごとが早はやく終おわった。…

Except

以外いがい means “other than” or “except for”. It is added directly to nouns and verbs in their dictionary form.…

The Classical Negative

ず is the classical version of the negative ending ない. It is often used in writing and in…

As Much As Possible

To say ‘as much as possible’ or ‘as much as you can’ in Japanese we take the standard…

Negative Tendency

ありがちな考え方。 A typical way of thinking. ありがちな誤解。 A common misconception. メンバーが大勢いると結論のない議論になりがちである。 xxxxx

Saying “When” in Japanese: とき

Quite often “とき” is the first word that you meet to say ‘when’ in Japanese. The kanji (時) we…

とき versus 〜たら

The critical difference is that ~たら assumes that the prior action has been completed before the subsequent action begins.…

The Strong Suggestion: べき

We have already met one way to make a suggestion. タバコをやめた方ほうがいいです。 It’s better that you quit smoking. べき…

Maybe/Possibility: ~かもしれない

かもしれない is translatable as “maybe”. It expresses less probability than adding the volitional form of the auxiliary verb…

Supposition: だろう & でしょう

The volitional form of the auxiliary verb was briefly introduced before when we looked at the volitional. Form…